"If there is a bedrock principle
underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit
the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself
offensive or disagreeable." —Supreme Court Justice William O.
Douglas, in Texas v. Johnson

Sponsored by the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association, and a variety of other groups, Banned Books Week (Sept. 21–27, 2014) celebrates the first amendment right to free speech, which includes the right to read and write books that are considered unorthodox or controversial. A banned book is one that has actually been removed from a library or school system, a "challenged" book is the attempt to ban such material.

As the ALA notes, books "usually are challenged with the best intentions–to protect others, frequently children, from difficult ideas and information." The three major reasons for challenging books are, in descending order, sexual explicitness, offensive language, and "unsuited to age group." Other reasons include occult themes, violence, promotion of homosexuality, promotion of a religious viewpoint, nudity, racism, presentation of sex education, and books considered "anti-family." The challenges come from both the right and left ends of the political spectrum. According to the ALA, most challenges are made by parents, and most are unsuccessful.

Some of the most famous challenges have been to works widely considered classics of American literature, including J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, and Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Probably the most publicized challenges in recent years was to the highly popular Harry Potter and Twilight series for promoting "unchristian" themes such as magic and vampirism.

The 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 20131

Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

A Bad Boy Can Be Good for A Girl by Tanya Lee Stone

Looking for Alaska by John Green

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

Bone (series) by Jeff Smith

Source: Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association

1. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received a total
of 307 challenges in 2013. A challenge is defined as a formal, written
complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be
removed because of content or appropriateness. The number of challenges
reflects only incidents reported, and for each reported, four or five remain
unreported.

The 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 20121

Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Scary Stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Source: Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association

1. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received a total
of 464 challenges in 2012. A challenge is defined as a formal, written
complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be
removed because of content or appropriateness. The number of challenges
reflects only incidents reported, and for each reported, four or five remain
unreported.

The 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 20111

ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series) by Lauren Myracle

The Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My Mom's Having A Baby! A Kid's Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy by Dori Hillestad Butler

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Alice (series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

Gossip Girl (series) by Cecily Von Ziegesar

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Source: Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association

1. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received a total
of 326 challenges in 2011. A challenge is defined as a formal, written
complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be
removed because of content or appropriateness. The number of challenges
reflects only incidents reported, and for each reported, four or five remain
unreported.

The 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2000–20052

Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Alice (series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris

Scary Stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz

Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey

Forever by Judy Blume

Source: Office for Intellectua Freedom, American Library Association

2. The ALA reports there were more than 3,000 attempts to
remove books from schools and public libraries between 2000 and 2005.
Challenges are defined as formal, written complaints filed with a library or
school requesting that materials be removed because of content or
appropriateness.

The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–20013

Scary Stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz

Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling

Forever by Judy Blume

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Alice (series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman

My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and
Christopher Collier

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Giver by Lois Lowry

It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris

Goosebumps (series) by R.L. Stine

A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Sex by Madonna

Earth's Children (series) by Jean M. Auel

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak

The Stupids (series) by Harry Allard

The Witches by Roald Dahl

The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein

Anastasia Krupnik (series) by Lois Lowry

The Goats by Brock Cole

Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane

Blubber by Judy Blume

Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan

Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam

We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier

Final Exit by Derek Humphry

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide
for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Beloved by Toni Morrison

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Pigman by Paul Zindel

Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard

Deenie by Judy Blume

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden

The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar

Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)

Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole

Cujo by Stephen King

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell

Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy

Ordinary People by Judith Guest

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide
for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

Crazy Lady by Jane Conly

Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher

Fade by Robert Cormier

Guess What? by Mem Fox

The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Native Son by Richard Wright

Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies
by Nancy Friday

Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen

Jack by A.M. Homes

Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya

Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle

Carrie by Stephen King

Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume

On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer

Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge

Family Secrets by Norma Klein

Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole

The Dead Zone by Stephen King

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Always Running by Luis Rodriguez

Private Parts by Howard Stern

Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford

Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene

Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Running Loose by Chris Crutcher

Sex Education by Jenny Davis

The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene

Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy

How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts

The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney

Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and
Christopher Collier

Source: Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association

3. Out of 6,364 challenges reported to or recorded by the
Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association. 71% of the
challenges were to material in schools or school libraries, 24% were to
material in public libraries. 60% of the challenges were brought by parents,
15% by patrons, and 9% by administrators.The ALA Office for Intellectual
Freedom does not claim comprehensiveness in recording challenges. Research
suggests that for each challenge reported there are as many as four or five
which go unreported.